RedcliffGiving new life to the property’s existing driveway, the landscape architect owner of this residence tore up the original driveway then repurposed the remaining cement as pavers and for backfill behind retaining walls in the new backyard.

The 2800 square-foot residence in the Silver lake neighborhood of Los Angeles sits up on a hilltop commanding panoramic views of the city around it.

An outdoor living room serves as the entry to the house. Photo: Robin Plaskoff Horton.

A framed opening in the front of property fence peeks out at the neighbor’s orange tree. Photo: Dex Studio.

The home’s renovation included reorienting the first floor, adding a second floor, and altering the facade to include a custom cedar redwood screen–a design motif that is also echoed in the interior millwork.

Custom exterior cedar redwood screens. Photo: Robin Plaskoff Horton.

A separate garage/studio stands at the property’s entrance, visually tied in to the rest of the residence by the consistency of the exterior’s handcrafted textures. Even the handrails on the steps leading to the main house continue the redwood screen motif, this time with a metal built-in water-feature.

The pond is a watering hole for the neighborhood racoons. Phot: Robin Plaskoff Horton.

For the pond at the front of the house, the city provided the homeowner with free mosquito fish–and even came to place the fish in the water!

The homeowner built these steps to reach his upper veggie garden unwittingly providing access to the raccoons! Photo: Robin Plaskoff Horton.

The raccoons, the owner told me, come to bathe in the pond, feast on the fish, then climb the steps in the back of the house where they finish off their meal with fresh vegetables from the garden.

A set of chaises on the side of the house provide another place to repose. Photo: Robin Plaskoff Horton.

For such a modestly sized home, there were five outdoor rooms, each offering their own distinctive ambiance. Up a set of steps, a gravel area with two chaises faced the water feature in close enough proximity to benefit from the water’s calming effects. Adjacent to the downstairs garage/studio, one could take it easy in a butterfly chair while listening to the sound of water flowing into the pond just above.